Sorry about my sudden disappearance last week. I was on vacation and couldn’t bring myself to sit in front of a computer for any of it.
I did, however, succeed in making yummy food.
I made double chocolate peppermint cookies, incredible pumpkin muffins and a hearty pot roast.
To avoid getting bogged down in Christmas-themed recipes all month long, I’ll share the pot roast recipe from www.sowonderfulsomarvelous.com first.
As you probably know, slow-cooker recipes save time in the evening, but most require as much prep as stove-top dishes — and you have to do it in the morning.
Well, I dispensed with that by chopping the vegetables and blending the spices the night before. That way all I had to do the next day was brown the roast and cross my fingers.
By the way, what’s called an “English roast” is also referred to as “chuck shoulder.”
The meal turned out beautifully. The vegetables were perfect, the meat was perfect, and the whole thing made the highlight reel of my low-key week off.
P.S. The recipe doesn’t say to brown the roast, but I wanted it to have that flavor, so it did it — about 2 to 3 minutes per side in a 12-inch skillet.

For some reason, I’m really ready for fall. Summer was great, but with October bearing down on us and this comfortably cool weather, not to mention a strange obsession with pumpkins and mums, I’m pushing the season.
The meals for my print columns on Tomato Watermelon Salad and this Wednesday’s Roasted Tomato Soup, were cooked weeks ago. Most of my backyard tomatoes now are canned, and I’m already thinking about applesauce and apple butter.
And Pot Roast. When I get a craving for that autumn standby, it’s time to switch out the wardrobe and dig out the Crock Pot.
I packed up the shorts and short-sleeved blouses this past weekend. I hope to liberate the slow-cooker from the back of the cupboard sometime this week.
Kitchen Daily offered up a recipe for a scrumptious-sounding Post Roast today, which got my mouth watering.